Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 77

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts > Part 77

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

633

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

California; the Hon. Harry Hibbard and the Hon. Amos Tuck, members of Congress from New Hampshire; and the Hon. Peter T. Washburn, Governor of Vermont. On leav- ing college Mr. Stevens entered his father's office, and began the study of law. After the death of his father, which occurred a few months later, he matriculated at Andover Theological Seminary, where he pursued his studies for two years, without, however, com- pleting the prescribed course. For several years after he was employed in teaching.

While thus occupied as principal of Worth- ington Academy in Massachusetts, he was in- vited to assume the office of editor of the New Hampshire Statesman. This was in 1846, a year memorable in politics; and an editorial position was hedged about with unusual diffi- culties and trials. With fearless courage, however, Mr. Stevens undertook his task, and his leaders in the columns of the States- man during the summer and autumn of that year show with what degree of ability he dis- charged his duties. After several more years of teaching he became in 1849 proprietor and editor of the Barre Patriot, then the Whig organ of Worcester County north. Disposing of this property about three years later, he ac- cepted an invitation to become the chief polit- ical editor of the Worcester Daily Transcript, then placed upon a new financial basis in order to become the Whig organ of Worcester City and County in the Scott campaign. In the following year he was appointed to a posi- tion in the State department at Boston, his duties being to assist in preparing the early Colonial records for publication. This posi- tion he held until the Know Nothing party came into power, when, refusing to affiliate himself with that party, he surrendered his place.

Almost immediately, however, he was en- gaged by Gould & Lincoln, Boston publishers, and installed as their literary reader and edi- tor. In this situation it was his good fortune to be the means of introducing to the public on this side of the Atlantic the "Metaphysics" of Sir William Hamilton, and to secure the publication of the able work on "Mental and Moral Philosophy," written by his friend,

Professor Joseph Haven, D.D., of Amherst and later of the Chicago Theological Semi- nary. But the financial disturbance of 1858 caused a curtailment of the publishing busi- ness, and his connection with it came to an end.

To Mr. Stevens must be given the credit of making and editing the first collection of Macaulay's Essays that appeared in book form on either side of the Atlantic. It came about in this way: While he was a student at An- dover the famous Essay on Milton was for the first time brought under his notice. It im- pressed him as no other writing had done, and he began searching through the files of the Edinburgh Review, in which the essay had ap- peared, for others by the same author. His search was guided by style alone, but it was rewarded by a "find" of fourteen articles. The list of these was transmitted to Macau- lay and by him duly authenticated, and sub- sequently the collection was published in two volumes by Weeks, Jordan & Co., of Boston.

Mr. Stevens was himself a writer of merit. His first book was the History of Anthony Burns, the famous slave extradited in 1854. This was published by the same firm that pub- lished "Uncle Tom's Cabin "; and Charles Sumner said, "It must take its place in the permanent literature of the country." His next book, which was entitled "New Biog- raphies of Illustrious Men," was a collection of brief but carefully written biographies, with sketches of the writers in an extended in- troduction by the editor. The chief attrac- tion of the volume consisted of four new bio- graphical essays from the pen of Macaulay. Mr. Stevens also published a History of the Worcester Churches and a number of note- worthy pamphlets, among these last being one containing a very thorough treatment of the "Relations of Church and Parish." This was first read before the Congregational Club of Worcester, of which Mr. Stevens was a val- ued member.

In 1859 Mr. Stevens was appointed Assist- ant Register of Probate and Insolvency for the county of Worcester. This office he contin- ued to hold for ten years. He was then elected by the people Register of Probate and

634

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Insolvency for a term of five years. By suc- cessive re-elections he held the office for three terms, so that in both capacities his connec- tion with the probate office extended through a quarter of a century. He introduced several reforms in the office, invented the grooved cast-iron shelf and the modern method of filing papers, and was influential in the con- struction and arrangement of the new court- house.

Subsequent to 1883 Mr. Stevens was en- gaged in the practice of his profession, having an office in the Walker Building. He was a devout worshipper at the Union Congrega- tional church and for many years a member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society in Boston. For a time he was edi- torial writer for the Worcester Spy, and con- tributed occasional articles to the Spy and to the Boston Advertiser. He had fine taste in all matters of art and literature, was a keen critic, and a constant and wide reader of po- litical, historical, biographical, religious, and critical publications. His interest in cur- rent events never flagged, and his influence in every sphere of life in which he moved was healthful and inspiring.

Mr. Stevens's death occurred on December 13, 1893, after a brief illness. His wife sur- vives him; also their two children - Kate G. Stevens and Dr. William C. Stevens.

IDWIN PIERCE, for a number of years owner of one of the largest iron foun- dries in Worcester County, was born at Auburn in 1836, and died in Worcester, June 15, 1893. His father, Calvin W. Pierce, a native of Enfield, Conn., but a resi- dent of Worcester, was a stone-mason, and ranked high as a citizen and a builder. He erected many of the public buildings of Worcester, and also executed extensive con- tracts in other cities and towns, his work being noted for its excellence.

Edwin Pierce came to Worcester early in life, and here attended the common schools and the high school. In his youth he was hindered by ill health from progressing as fast as he desired, but, applying himself steadily,

he won his way forward. He became book- keeper for the New York Steam Engine Com- pany of Worcester, and at the same time held the position of cashier. He regained his health, and became financial manager of Will- iam A. Wheeler's iron foundry, one of the best in the county. He proved himself a valuable man for Mr. Wheeler, and was a fac- tor in the business, though not at this time a partner. Upon the death of Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Pierce formed a copartnership with Mr. Holman and M. P. Kilez, formerly foreman for Mr. Wheeler, and the two carried on the business under the name of the Wheeler Foundry Company. Mr. Holman at length sold his share in the concern to Mr. Pierce and his foreman, and under this partnership the business was continued until 1881. Mr. Pierce then took the entire business, and suc- cessfully carried it on alone until his death, which occurred twelve years later.

Mr. Pierce was married in 1859 to Ellen M. Morse, daughter of James S. Morse, of Worcester. He is survived by his wife and two children, namely: a son, Edgar, who now conducts the foundry ; and a daughter, Mabel. Strictly upright and honorable, clear-headed and capable, Mr. Pierce was a man of high standing in the business world. Domestic in his tastes and devoted to his home and family, he was of a kindly disposition, and showed his good will and sympathy by practical benevolence to the needy. He was a member of the Worcester County Mechanics' Associa- tion for many years. He joined the Congre- gational church early in life.

EREMIAH EVARTS GREENE, Post- master of the city of Worcester, was born in Boston on November 27, 1834, son of the Rev. David and Mary (Evarts) Greene.

His grandfather, Thomas Greene, was the grandson of William and Hannah (Sloane) Greene. He was born in Stoneham, and died there in 1848. A mechanic and farmer by occupation, he was well-to-do, and reared a large family. Three of his elder brothers fought in the war of the Revolution, and near

635

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

its close he himself enlisted in a Rhode Island campaign. Two of the sons of Thomas - Samuel and David - were graduates of Yale and clergymen in the Orthodox church. Sam- uel, who preached for a time in Boston, died when a comparatively young man, leaving one daughter.

The Rev. David Greene was born in Stone- ham on November 15, 1797. He was married in Boston about 1829 to Mary Evarts, of New Haven, Conn., daughter of Jeremiah and Me- hitable (Sherman) Evarts and sister of Will- iam M. Evarts. Jeremiah Evarts, who was a graduate of Yale, was for many years secretary of the American Board of Foreign Missions. With this organization the Rev. David Greene also became early connected, first as assistant secretary and later, after the death of Mr. Evarts, as secretary, serving in that capacity from 1832 to 1849. Previous to his connec- tion with the board he had been instructor in Amherst for a number of years. In 1849, his health having become impaired, he retired to his farm in Westboro. His death occurred in 1867 at Westboro, from an accident which befell him during the process of blasting stone. His wife died in 1850, having been the mother of seven sons and five daughters; namely, David B., Mary E., Anna, Jeremiah E., Samuel, Sarah E., Martha S., Roger S., Jane H., Daniel C., William J., and Henry H. David B. Greene, who was born in 1830, was a Captain in the United States army dur- ing the Civil War, and was killed in 1863 at Arkansas Post. He left a widow. Mary, who was secretary of the Women's Missionary So- ciety, died in 1881, unmarried. Anna is the wife of Louis H. Boutell, a Chicago lawyer residing in Evanston, Ill. Mr. Boutell en- listed in the Union army on a nine months' term, serving in the Boston "Tigers." He was afterward Major of a Missouri regiment. Samuel Greene is a Congregational clergyman residing in Seattle, Wash. Sarah E. is the wife of the Rev. Dr. S. W. Boardman, presi- dent of Marysville College in Tennessee and graduate of Middlebury (Vt.) College. a

Martha S. is the wife of J. Evarts Tracy, an attorney of New York City, but a resident of Plainfield, N.J. Roger S., who is a Seattle

lawyer, has been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Washington Territory. Daniel C. Greene was graduated at Dartmouth College, and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Rutgers College. He has been engaged in mission work in Japan for the past twenty- six years, and is now at Tokio. He is mar- ried and has several children. Jane H. is the wife of the Rev. Henry Loomis, who is agent of the American Bible Society at Yokahama, Japan. William J. is deceased. Henry H. Greene, the youngest of this family, is in business at Detroit, Mich.

Jeremiah Evarts Greene received a prepara- tory training in the Roxbury Latin School, and in 1849, at the age of fourteen, entered the University of New York City, where he remained for a year. He was graduated at Yale in 1853, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For a year he was assistant principal in an Episcopal academy in Connecticut, and following that he taught for two years in Keosauqua, Ia. He then became assistant en- gineer for the Des Moines Navigation and Railroad Company. In 1857 he went to Kan- sas City, and for two years he was employed as a surveyor in the city and on the plains. Returning East in the spring of 1859, he re- sumed the study of law, in October of that year was admitted to the bar in Worcester, and the following spring he began the prac- tice of his profession in North Brookfield.

In the spring of 1861, at the first call for volunteers, Mr. Greene helped to raise Com- pany F of the Fifteenth Infantry, Massachu- setts Volunteers, and was eventually made Captain in the regiment. In July he went with his command to the front at Washington and thence to the upper Potomac. At the battle of Ball's Bluff he was taken prisoner, and for the next four months was in prison at Richmond. On February 22, 1862, he was paroled, but, failing to get exchanged, en- deavored to resign. He subsequently with- drew his resignation, but later renewed it and it was accepted, and in November, 1862, he was discharged. He resumed his law practice at North Brookfield. In the spring of 1868 he came to Worcester, and for the next twenty- three years was editor of the Spy, bringing

636

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

that journal to the front of Worcester County publications. In 1891 he was commissioned Postmaster. The office of which he has charge is in the first class, and its annual receipts are the thirty-seventh among United States post- offices in amount. The fine new post-office, which is one of the best equipped in the coun- try, though not among the largest, is one of the finest buildings in the county. It was erected at a cost of four hundred thousand dol- lars, and was first occupied on February 26,

1897. The Assistant Postmaster is J. W.

Hunt. Mr. Greene is a Republican in poli-

tics. While in North Brookfield he was chairman of the School Committee and Over-' seer of the Poor, and in Worcester has been a member of the Parks Commission, and twice president of the Directors of the Free Public Library.

Mr. Greene was married on April 14, 1864, to Mary A. Bassett, of New Haven, daughter of John G. Bassett, a merchant of New York City. She was a lady of many accomplish- ments, but always in delicate health. She died on January 14, 1897, at the age of sixty- two. Mr. Greene resides at 98 Lincoln Street, where he bought a lot soon after com- ing to the city, and where he built his dwell- ing some twenty-nine years ago.

MORY LYMAN BATES, of Sturbridge, President and Treasurer of the Snell Manufacturing Company, was born here, March 16, 1823, son of Lyman and Jerusha (Fairbanks) Bates. The father, who was born in Bellingham, Mass., in 1773, came in early life to Sturbridge, and for a time was engaged in the butcher business. He subsequently re- moved to Brookfield, taking up his residence on a farm in the cultivation of which he spent the remainder of his active years. He was a hard worker, and whatever he undertook was carried through in an energetic manner. In politics he was a Whig, in religion a Congre- gationalist. His wife, Jerusha, was born in Franklin, Mass., in 1776. Six children were the fruit of their union; namely, Asa F., Juliette M., Caroline F., Emily H., Abigail

F., and Emory Lyman. Of these, Emory Lyman is the only survivor. Caroline F. mar- ried Marble Phetteplace, Emily H. married Winsor Walker, and Abigail F. became the wife of Adrian Hibbard.

Emory Lyman Bates attended school in Sturbridge. At the age of fourteen he went to Brookfield and clerked in a general store for five years. Returning to Fiskdale, town of Sturbridge, he held a similar position in a store here for three years. In 1845, with Judson Smith as a partner, and under the firm name of Smith & Bates, he took up the manu- facture of shoes, and also conducted a general store. They did a business valued at one hun- dred thousand dollars yearly. Five years later he went into partnership with J. D. Sessions, under the firm name of Sessions, Bates & Co., establishing a general merchandise business, and also a manufactory of boots and shoes, both of which were very successful, and a few years later opening a branch store in Toronto, Canada. In 1858 this firm was dissolved, and Mr. Bates became a member of a new company known as Bates, King & Co., formed for the manufacture of russet brogans for the Southern negroes. At the outbreak of the Civil War the company had eighty-seven thousand dollars' worth of bills due in the South, but owing to the frequent raids of Confederate troops only ten thousand dollars was realized on them. From 1861 to 1868 Mr. Bates kept a general country store as a member of the firm of Bates & Bacon. In 1862 in connection with Clark & Wilson of New York he bought out Snell Brothers, manufacturers of augers and bits. Since then he has conducted the business under the name of the Snell Manufacturing Com- pany, greatly enlarging the capacity of the plant and making many other improvements. The largest of the old stone buildings, which was consumed by fire in 1895, has been re- placed by a commodious modern building, thoroughly equipped with the latest improved machinery. Mr. Bates was the first to intro- duce American steel into the manufacture of augers and bits. He has built up a large trade, and now ships goods to many foreign countries. Up to within a few years he gave his personal supervision to the details of the

EMORY L. BATES.

639

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

business. Now he confines his attention to the management of the financial affairs of the company. About one hundred and twenty-five hands are employed in the works, and two- thirds of the number are skilled artisans. In 1858 Mr. Bates erected the present post-office building in Fiskdale.

On December 4, 1845, Mr. Bates married Maria W. Lombard, who was born in Brim- field, Mass., February 22, 1820. They have one child - Arthur L., born October 3, 1846, who was married in September, 1885, to Caro- line A. Allen, and now has a daughter, Agnes M. Bates. Mr. Bates, Sr., has been actively interested in town affairs. He was Town Clerk, Selectman, and Town Treasurer for twenty-five years; a Representative to the General Court in 1864 and 1883; a State Senator in 1875; a Notary Public and a Jus- tice of the Peace for forty years; and he has been a Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. Under the administration of Presi- dent William Henry Harrison he was ap- pointed Postmaster of Sturbridge, or Fiskdale, and afterward served in that capacity for twenty-five years. He is now a trustee of the Hyde Library Fund.

ERBERT R. KINNEY, horticultu- rist, residing in the Eighth Ward of Worcester, one of the leading and progressive men engaged in the business of market-gardening in Worcester County, was born about a half-mile distant from his present home on June 23, 1860. He is a son of the well-known market-gardener F. J. Kinney, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this issue of the BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW. He attended the district school until his seventeenth year, and from that time until he was about thirty-one years old he as- sisted his father on the home farm. Being the eldest son, considerable responsibility de- volved upon him, and he became his father's right-hand man. In this way he acquired a practical knowledge of plant life, of soil and cultivation, that has enabled him to carry out new ideas of his own and make independent in- vestigations in different lines connected with

horticulture. On October 6, 1891, he settled in his present home, having built a residence and a greenhouse on the ten acres of land he had purchased.

While he raises vegetables and fruit in vari- ety, his two leading crops are celery and lettuce. The latter he grows the year round, growing it in hot-beds and greenhouses during the winter and in the open ground in summer. In the spring he does some business in vege- table plants. Of late he has given consider- able attention to raising mushrooms, for which he has well-equipped cellars and in which he is so successful that handsome returns accrue. Mr. Kinney, though in every way a practical gardener, appreciates the value and impor- tance of the application of science to horticult- ure, and is quick to adopt improved methods in any department of his business. New in- ventions also receive careful investigation by him, and if found to be adapted to his needs are at once adopted and utilized.

Mr. Kinney has been a successful exhibitor at many of the larger horticultural and agri- cultural exhibitions in New England. He has put up some collections of vegetables in Boston and Worcester that attracted much at- tention, and has usually secured fully his share of prizes. Doubtless Mr. Kinney's success is due in part to his inherited tastes and charac- teristics. His father has been already spoken of : his grandparents also were tillers of the soil: His paternal great-grandmother, who was of Scotch birth, and was a woman of re- markable energy, was so determined to have an orchard in the new home to which she was removing on horseback with her infant child, that she carried on the saddle with her all the way from Connecticut to New Hampshire some young apple-trees for planting.

Mr. Kinney was married on November 20, 1884, to Lillie Robbins, of Worcester, daugh- ter of Welcome and Lucretia (Holmes) Robbins, her parents being natives of Connec- ticut. Mrs. Kinney has three sisters and one brother, Oscar Robbins, of Springfield. She is the mother of two children, namely : George H., who was born at the old homestead on May 28, 1886; and Alfred Russell, who was born on March 20, 1889.

640

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

OHN M. DRAKE, a leading general merchant of Warren, son of Clement B. Drake, was born October 2, 1846, in Holland, Hampden County. He is of distinguished English ancestry, coming from the same family, it is said, that produced Sir Francis Drake, and being a descendant of the British admiral, John M. Drake.

Clement B. Drake, born and bred in Massa- chusetts, for some years in his earlier life was engaged in cotton manufacturing in Holland, Mass. Afterward he opened a store in that village. On retiring from store-keeping he purchased a saw-mill and a grist-mill, and was thereafter engaged in the lumber and grain business. Quite active in town affairs, he was a Selectman for many terms. He married Rinda M. Fuller, a daughter of Elbridge G. Fuller. Mr. Fuller, who built a cotton fac- tory in Holland, was there extensively engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods for a num- ber of years, and he represented the town in the General Court of Massachusetts for one or more terms.

John M. Drake was bred and educated in the town of Holland. Before attaining his major- ity he began earning his own living in the ca- pacity of clerk in a dry-goods store of South- bridge, Mass., which position he filled for nearly two years. Returning then to Holland, he worked on a farm for a short time. Not feeling himself particularly adapted for a suc- cessful farmer, he gave up agricultural work ; and, coming in 1870 to Warren, he secured a situation as clerk in the dry-goods house of Rockwood & Co. In 1872, in company with F. Brigham, he opened a grocery store at his present location, opposite the railway station, and thereafter carried on a substantial business for two years as junior member of the firm Brigham & Drake. Having then purchased his partner's interest, he has since conducted a prosperous trade in Warren and vicinity. He occupies two floors of the building, the larger of which is forty-two by fifty-three feet ; and he now carries a complete assortment of flour, groceries, crockery, hardware, wooden- ware, paper hangings, and agricultural imple- ments of all kinds. In each department he keeps the latest and choicest novelties, includ-

ing both staple and fancy goods of a grade to please all tastes and to suit all purses. He employs six clerks, who give prompt and cheer- ful attention to his numerous customers.

Mr. Drake is active in town affairs, and has served acceptably as Selectman for one year. At present he is a trustee of the Warren Sav- ings Bank and a director of the Worcester County Creamery Association. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masons of Warren; and he is a charter member of the Warren Lodge of Odd Fellows and of the Warren Grange. His wife was formerly Miss Lucy J. Brigham, daughter of the late Frederick Brigham, of Warren.

ARCUS BURROUGHS, a leading agriculturist of Warren and ex- Representative to General Court from this district, was born here, December 30, 1840. A son of Samuel R. and Eliza S. (Converse) Burroughs, he is a grand- son of David and a great-grandson of Deacon David Burroughs. Deacon Burroughs, the founder of the family in this place, and who died in his ninety-second year, was a soldier of the Revolution. A wooden drinking cup that served him through the war is now in the pos- session of Marcus Burroughs, also an old-fash- ioned eight-day clock and a sun-dial left by him. Samuel R. Burroughs, born in Warren and a lifelong resident of the town, died in 1874 in his sixty-ninth year. He was actively interested in town affairs, and rendered impor- tant services to the community in the capaci- ties of Road Commissioner, Overseer of the Poor, and Selectman. In politics he was a Republican and in religious belief a Congre- gationalist.

Marcus Burroughs attended the common schools of Warren and subsequently Monson Academy. With the exception of two years, during which he was a member of the firm J. B. Lombard & Co., dealers in general merchan- dise in West Warren, he has spent his active period engaged in agriculture. His farm con- tains two hundred acres. Besides carrying on general farming he is engaged in breeding and raising a fine grade of Guernsey and Durham cattle, and he sells a large quantity of cream

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 77

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company Number of Pages: 1238

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238